Community event signs and temporary banner signs are now permitted in Portland, after the Portland City Council approved Ordinance No. 194B to amend Section 28-6 of the city code of ordinances at its meeting Monday night.

Ordinance 194B permits community event signs in all districts except in, on or over public rights-of-way or alleys except as otherwise permitted. A sign, which can be up to 24 square feet in size and may be a banner-style sign, can be placed for up to 14 days before the event and must be taken down within three days after the event. Community event signs are exempt from permit requirements under the ordinance.

Temporary banner signs for businesses, such as those that promote sales and grand openings, also are permitted in all non-residential districts under the ordinance with a permit. Temporary banner signs can be up to 24 square feet and displayed – one sign at a time – on a parcel for up to 30 days during any calendar year. The time limitations can be split among different temporary signs, as long as the combined display time for all signs does not exceed 30 days.

The new ordinance is intended to "relax the rules," said Portland City Manager Tom Dempsey. Under the previous sign ordinance, vinyl banner signs weren't allowed at all.

"In the past, we turned a blind eye toward some of the community event signs that didn't comply, because they were there for a short duration, or with the temporary banner signs for the commercial folks, giving them a notice that they had to take it down within a week," Dempsey said, adding that certain people put up signs anyway, knowing they would get a notice to take them down. "It seemed far wiser to legitimize the use of some of these signs for certain regulated periods ... and get them to comply voluntarily with these sale banners."

Dempsey noted there is a process in the sign ordinance that provides for the planning commission to hear requests for variances where the size limitation or time period causes problems for the organization.

"An ordinance is written for general application. We can't craft a regulation that is all things to all people," Dempsey said. "For the unusual ones, we have a variance process."

Dempsey also updated council members on a proposal from Craig Patterson of the Woda Group to purchase the Old School Manor for senior housing, which would involve MSHDA financing and an ordinance calling for a Payment in Lieu of Taxes.

Dempsey said he has received a letter of intent to purchase the property at "a nominal charge" of $15,000 to cover the city's and the land bank's costs. The letter of intent includes "more favorable terms for the city" than the terms with Golden Bridge Manor: 10 percent of the rents for 16 years in return for the property coming off the tax rolls for this period of time.